The American Dental Association recommends regular visits to a dentist for professional cleanings and oral exams in order to help prevent tooth decay and cavities. In a typical professional cleaning, a dental angle with a rotating applicator tip is used to apply dental prophylaxis paste (also referred to herein as prophy paste) to the patient's teeth and scrub any accumulated plaque, tartar and stain off the teeth. The applicator tip typically includes a flexible rubber or latex cup for receiving the prophy paste.
Prophy paste is typically packaged in a small, single-use container. During the cleaning process, a dental professional, such as a dental hygienist, inserts the applicator tip into the container. Typically, the applicator tip is rotated at relatively high speeds, such as between 1,000 and 3500 rpm, to help assist in loading the prophy paste into the cup. Desirably, an appropriate amount of the prophy paste is loaded quickly by the rotating cup so that the dental professional can perform this step in a one-step stab-like action of the cup into the paste. In some cases, the consistency of the paste may be too wet or too dry. For example, if the prophy paste is too wet it may not adequately load fill the cup. On the other hand, if it is too dry or too tacky it may be difficult to load the paste into the cup due in part to the flexibility of the cup. Additional issues related to the consistency of paste may also lead to other problems that are frequently associated with prophy paste. In particular, splattering of the prophy paste during use is of special concern. For example, many commercially available prophy pastes have a tendency to splatter during the actual teeth cleaning process or during the step of picking up the prophy paste with the applicator tip. Again, the consistency of the paste also contributes to the splattering of the paste. Pastes that are too wet or tacky tend to splatter excessively during use. Prophy pastes that have little, if any, splattering and can be picked up relatively easily by the applicator tip are generally referred to as having good handability.
Other handability issues relate to the ease to which the paste can be packaged during the manufacturing process. Typically, prophy pastes are either introduced into the individual containers through extrusion or by a gravity fed system. In the case of the gravity fed system, it is essential that the prophy paste initially be flowable so that it can flow into and fill the individual containers. However, after being introduced into the container, the prophy paste needs to cure or set so that the paste has the desired consistency for use by the end user, such as a dental hygienist. For instance, some prophy pastes are formulated to initially go from a semi-fluid state in which the paste has flowability to a final cured state. If the paste is too thick or tacky, it may create difficulties in filling the containers. On the other hand, if the paste is too wet, it may not cure to the right consistency. Other prophy pastes may be formulated such that little or no additional curing takes place. These types of prophy pastes typically have little flowability and are generally injected under pressure, such as extrusion, into the containers. In many cases, such pastes may be too thick or tacky and, as a result, may have a tendency to splatter or be difficult to load into the cup.
Dental enamel is composed of a crystalline latticework composed of various minerals, the principle component of which is a complex calcium phosphate mineral called hydroxyapatite. Normally, hydroxyapatite is insoluble at normal oral pH levels. However, the consumption of acidic beverages and food lowers the pH within the mouth. Additionally, acids are produced within the mouth by bacteria in plaque biofilm. At these lower pH levels the solubility of hydroxyapatite increases, which can lead to demineralization of dental enamel. Demineralization can result in the formation of voids, such as carious lesions, in the teeth that can lead to weakening and loss of enamel.
Recently, dental products have been developed that have remineralization properties. Remineralization refers generally to the process of restoring minerals in the form of mineral ions, such as calcium and phosphate ions, to dental enamel that have been lost due to demineralization. However, currently available prophy pastes that claim to have remineralization properties have a tendency to be difficult to load into the applicator tip cup and also have undesirable levels of splattering. As such, these prophy pastes have generally been considered to exhibit poor handability. As a result, the commercial acceptance of such remineralization prophy pastes has been limited.
Thus, there exists a need for a dental prophy paste having remineralization characteristics without sacrificing the handability (e.g., flowability, low splatter, etc.) of the paste.